This Lemon, Shrimp & Spinach Risotto is light and fresh and tastes just like traditional risotto, but is grain free! Riced celery root is using in place of Arborio rice and becomes creamy and so delicious when cooked in broth. This risotto takes just 30 minutes to make and is Dairy Free, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Whole30 and Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal.
This recipe is a spin on a Lemon, Shrimp and Orzo dish that I always used to make. It was full of butter and pasta (ie in no way Paleo) but I really loved the combination of the creamy orzo and refreshing lemon flavour. Recreating a dairy and grain free version of the dish was a challenge, but I am so happy with how it turned out.
I really like using celery root rice as the base for this kind of dish, because the rice becomes really creamy, without turning to mush. All you need is a combination of almond milk and chicken stock to create a creamy and delicious risotto that contains absolutely no dairy.
Unlike the Butternut Squash & Kale Risotto recipe I posted previously, this Whole30 Shrimp Risotto has a much more refreshing flavour thanks to the addition of lemon zest and juice. I really like how the lemon cuts through the creaminess of the rice without overpowering the dish.
To make this Whole30 Shrimp Risotto, the celery root risotto is cooked for about 10 minutes in the liquid until the majority of it has evaporated.
Then you add in spinach, garlic sautéed prawns and feta (if you aren’t on a Dairy Free diet).
Make sure that you add the spinach when there is still a bit of liquid left in the pan so that it is able to wilt, but doesn’t become overcooked.
This recipe is a good base that you can play around with depending on what you have on hand. The prawns/shrimp can be swapped for chicken or scallops, the spinach can be substituted for kale and you can add in more veggies like asparagus.
Leftover will last for a few days in the fridge and are great as a packed lunch. I find that this is filling enough to be served as a main course but would also work well as an appetizer or side dish.
Here are a few more celery root recipes that you might enjoy!
- Apple & Celery Root Soup
- Celery Root & Apple Salad
- Celery Root Tortillas & Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Whole30 Celery Root Tortillas
- Celeriac Risotto with Butternut Squash & Kale
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Lemon, Shrimp & Spinach Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 large celery root/celeriac (6 cups celery root rice)
- 1 tbsp olive oil or ghee
- 1 clove garlic
- 200 grams prawns
- 2 medium onion very finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups almond milk
- 4 cups spinach
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 3/4 cup chopped feta (omit if Paleo, Whole30 or Dairy Free)
Instructions
- Peel the celery root and cut it into chunks. Place the cut up pieces into a food processor and pulse. The key is not to over blend, you want it to break down into small pieces about the size of rice.
- In a pot on medium heat add 1 tbsp olive oil or ghee and 1 clove crushed garlic. Add in the prawns and cook for 3 minutes until pink and just cooked. Transfer the prawns to a plate and set aside.
- Add the garlic and onion to the pan, sprinkle with salt and sauté until the onion has softened.
- Add in 6 cups of celery root rice, the almond milk and chicken stock and leave to cook for about 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the rice is tender. You may need to turn the heat to high to make the liquid evaporate.
- Once most of the liquid is gone, stir in the spinach, cooked prawns, lemon juice, zest and feta if using. Leave to cook for a few minutes until the spinach has wilted. Serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a comment below and let us know how it was!
This was spectacular (as is everything I make from you)
Hi Carmen ☺️
This absolutely delicious only problem I went to every store couldn’t find celery root so I substitute orzo I stead but I follow everything the way u mention … but I didn’t put enough orzo since I didn’t have enough; for next time how much orzo should put ?
Thank you 😊
Can you use frozen Cauliflower rice?
Hi Carmen! Your dishes are always so good! I make your 12 min Herb & Mayo Salmon all the time! I’m planning on making this dish this weekend but with cauli rice. I see you mentioned below to add less liquid. Should I cut the almond milk and chicken stock in half or just eye it and leave out a little less than what it calls for? Excited to try this! I made risotta with cauli rice but with heavy cream and all that dairy a couple weeks ago, and OH MAN.. it was very rough on my stomach. This looks like a great alternative.
My apologies for the delayed reply! I would recommend using the liquid quantities from this recipe
This was delicious! I can tolerate rice, so I used rice instead of the celery root, but followed the rest of the recipe. So good! Next time I’ll try the celery root. Thanks for such a yummy recipe!
So happy to hear that it turned out well with regular rice. If you are ok eating grain/gluten, I highly recommend making it with orzo, its also really good.
Loved this dish!!!!!!! I used some scallops in mine
Never a bad dish from you!!!
Keep it up!
Thank you!! Love the idea of scallops! That sounds so good!
My dish turned out very liquidy and mushy. Any suggestions? I so want to master this dish!
Hi! Can I replace the celery root with rutabaga? My local store didn’t have celery root 😫
I’ve never tried using rutabaga as a rice before, let me know if you make it! Alternatively cauliflower rice would work well but should be cooked using less liquid so it doesn’t turn to mush.
I just made this! My whole family loved it, and I’m the only one “dieting”. I did make some modifications. I toasted chopped pancetta, removed from the pan and cooked the onion and garlic in the drippings. Instead of feta I used fresh parmesan. And I used regular milk instead of almond milk. After everything was added to the pan, I poured in a couple tbsp of heavy cream just to make it a little creamier. We aren’t dairy free so this fits us a little bit better. This was such a great recipe!
Hi, can you replace the celery root with cauliflower rice?
Yes definitely! Just make sure that you don’t over pulse the cauliflower rice too small otherwise it will turn to mush when cooked in the liquid.